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Monday, December 26, 2011

Clippers Alumni Update Part 1

Staff writer Adam Levine gives us a quick update on what former Clippers are up to around the league...

Darius, not exactly killin' it.

Darius Miles (Clippers, 2000-2002) was the closest thing to the Blake Show the Clippers have ever experienced. Injuries forced the former high flier out of the league, and Miles was later arrested after guards found him trying to take a loaded gun through security at Lambert Airport in St. Louis. He was released on bail and is currently not playing any ball. Talk about your classic Clippers curse.

Keyon Dooling (Clippers, 2000-2004) signed with the Boston Celtics this summer. With serious knee injuries, Dooling won’t provide the team the youth and athleticism he showed while playing with the Clippers, but he will provide them with quality backup minutes. Dooling has averaged over 7 points and 3 assists in less than 20 minutes throughout his career.

Chris Wilcox (Clippers, 2002-2006) will always be known to Clippers fans as the power forward the Clippers drafted 8th in 2002 (when Amar’e Stoudemire was drafter 9th, overall). Wilcox has been an above average big man off the bench, posting 9 points and 5 rebounds during his nine seasons in the league. He recently signed a one year contract with the Boston Celtics for the veterans minimum.

Melvin Ely (Clippers, 2002-2004) signed with Nuggets this month. The 12th pick has been another career backup big man. I want to hate on the Clippers for this pick, but the 2002 draft is full of underachievers.

Corey Maggette (Clippers, 2000-2008) had three seasons where he averaged over 20 points per game. He still may have been a Clipper if Mike Dunleavy’s inevitable firing has happened sooner. Dunleavy and Maggette never got along because of his suspect defense and…I have no idea. Apparently they just weren’t able to be adults and get along. Maggette, who always found a way to get to the free throw line, is player that would help any team score, so it is only fitting that the best scorer of all time, Michael Jordan, picked him up on the Charlotte Bobcats.

Steve Novak (2008-2010) is one of the best shooters I have ever seen. At 6’10, Clipper fans enjoyed not only watching him when he got into games, but during pregame warm-ups he put on incredible shooting displays. He signed with the Knicks this week, and hopefully the Mike D’Antoni’s quick shooting offence and Novak’s shot will be a good match.

Shawn Livingston (Clippers, 2004-2007) still makes me sad. I often have flashbacks of the injury heard around the world in the begging of the 06-07 season. Before the injury, Livingston was improving every facet of his game, including his shot, strength, court vision, and on-ball defense, making the 6’10 point guard a match-up nightmare. Livingston has been bouncing around the league since the injury, and he hopes to have a breakout season with the Milwaukee Bucks, where he was traded to for Maggette this summer.

Daniel Ewing (Clippers, 2005-2007) hasn’t played in the NBA since leaving the Clippers. He also didn’t play during the entire playoff run in 2006, but Mike Dunleavy still brought the guard into the game with 10 seconds left to guard Raja Bell (who shot right over him to win the game and eventually the series). Ewing, probably profoundly scarred by the incident, is now playing for Ukraine's Azovmash Mariupol.